The present invention relates generally to the cleaning or dressing of fish in preparation for cooking and, more particularly, to a process for removing surface slime and loosening scales from fish substantially without requiring mechanical action and without damaging the underlying skin and flesh.
While sport fishing is one of the most common and popular recreational pastimes throughout the world, fishermen almost universally disdain the process of cleaning and dressing fish in preparation for cooking, this process generally requiring removal of a fish's surface slime and scales, decapitation of the body, and evisceration of the entrails of the fish. Perhaps the most distasteful aspect of this process is the initial step of removing the surface slime and scales. Basically, this step requires the manual scraping of the fish's body using a sharpened serrated knife or similar implement to mechanically tear the scales and surface slime from the body, which of course is awkward and messy. Further, this technique has the disadvantage that the mechanical scraping action which is required often damages the skin and flesh of the fish underlying the scaled surface.